Besides, if the sorceress
was
still in hell, how would that affect any attempt at scrying? Or even the use of psychometry? Would it actually work? Or would it be dangerous for the practitioner to even
try
to locate our sorceress? Hell wasn’t a place you messed with, in any way, shape, or form. Unless, of course, you were a dark practitioner—and our sorceress had certainly shown very little fear or concern about playing in the underworld’s gardens.
“I do not care about your problems,” Hunter said. “I merely care about the end results.”
I closed my eyes and resisted the urge to scream. We had a week. The fates had also warned that this would all end in a week. Did Hunter have a direct line to those in charge? She drew her power from an old god, after all, so it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility.
You have nothing to lose by agreeing to her demands,
Azriel noted.
And time—as well as the space to move—to gain.
But only if she doesn’t throw another wrench in the works.
I opened my eyes and stared at Hunter for several seconds. I don’t think I’d ever hated anyone as much as I hated her right then, and it was galling to think that I hadn’t seen what she was—or what she was capable of—from the very first moment our paths had crossed and I’d agreed to work for her. And sure, she hadn’t exactly made it easy for me to refuse, but the truth was, it was my desperate need to avenge my mother’s death that had gotten me into this pickle, nothing else.
“Why,” I asked eventually, keeping my voice as even as I could, “is it necessary for you to have the keys within a week? It’s not like hell’s going anywhere.” Although it
would
bleed all over Earth—create a new playground for all hell’s nightmares—if we didn’t stop the sorceress from opening the final gate.
“Because I find it necessary to bring forward my own
plans,” she answered blithely. “There are certain . . . shall we say, elements . . . within the council that are gathering momentum. I find myself in need of a little something extra to contain the groundswell before it gains too much force.”
Meaning, in other words, that Harry Stanford, Markel, and everyone else involved with the “get rid of Hunter” movement had better start watching their backs
very
carefully.
“I really don’t think it’s wise to be using hell as some sort of—”
“And I really don’t care what you think,” Hunter snapped, green eyes glittering with both anger and darkness. And perhaps, if I looked closely enough, madness. “You will do as I desire or pay the price.”
“Fine,” I growled, clenching my fists under the desk in an effort not to smash one through her image on the vid-phone’s screen. “You’ll have both keys by the end of the week.”
“Good,” she murmured. “Although there is one additional point I forgot to mention.”
Of course there was, I thought darkly. There was always one more damn point. “And what might that be?”
“The second key. I want it in my hands by eight o’clock tomorrow morning, or people will start dying.”
Chapter 4
My breath caught somewhere in my throat, and for several seconds I couldn’t do anything more than simply stare at her. Horror, disbelief, anger—it all curled through me, and when combined with my already churning stomach, there was no containing it. I lurched out of my chair but didn’t make it any farther than the nearest trash can, where I was thoroughly and totally ill.
Azriel was beside me in an instant, holding back my hair as I lost every single bit of food I’d eaten only hours before, and then some.
“Water,” I croaked eventually, as I wiped a hand across my mouth. “Please.”
Azriel immediately disappeared but was back within seconds, a cup of cool water in his hand. I took it, rinsed my mouth out, then spat into the bin.
“Why, Risa dearest,” Hunter drawled, amusement heavy in her tone, “don’t tell me you’re coming down with something. That would be unfortunate timing indeed.”
Fury hit me; fury that was so deep, so fierce, it just about short-circuited my brain. I reached out, catching Azriel’s fingers, feeling the tremble in them, a physical echo of the emotions surging from his mind to mine.
You have no idea,
he growled,
how tempting it is right now to go find that woman and cut her into very tiny little pieces.
Which I’m guessing is exactly what she wants,
I replied.
She’s trying to goad you into an action we’d both regret.
I am well enough aware of that; it’s the reason I still stand here.
Her time will come, Azriel. It has to.
I hope so.
But he didn’t look convinced and again I was left with the feeling that the fates had told him far more than he was letting on.
If they let her live, there
would
be hell to pay.
“It would seem,” I said, squeezing Azriel’s hand a final time before releasing him and moving back to the desk, “that I ate something that disagreed with me.”
A more logical explanation would have been the fact that I was pregnant, but I wasn’t about to hand Hunter that sort of information. Whether the Cazadors had it was another matter entirely.
“I’m so glad it wasn’t something I said.”
“Hardly,” I murmured. “I mean, it isn’t like we haven’t heard that particular tune before.”
“So true.” Her voice was philosophical, but the darkness and madness in her eyes were oddly sharper. “Which means, of course, that you are well aware I will carry through with my threat.”
“I’m aware.”
“Good,” she said, voice suddenly brisk. “I shall expect to see you within the next twenty-four hours, then.”
“You will.” I hit the End button, then swore like there was no tomorrow. It didn’t help the situation one little bit, but it at least made me feel a little better.
Azriel merely raised his eyebrows and waited until I’d finished. “I had no idea there were
that
many swearwords in this world.”
I half smiled, as he no doubt intended. “There’s probably not. I just got creative with some non-swearwords.” My smile faded. “What the fuck are we going to do,
Azriel? I very much doubt that we can find the key in twenty-four hours—and even if we did, there’s no way in hell I’d give it to her.”
“No.” He rose and walked over, dragging me upright, then wrapping me in a hug that was fierce and warm. One that made me feel safe, looked after. Of course, it was a lie—or the safe part of it was. At least until we sorted out this whole key mess. Then there was Hunter . . .
“Let’s worry about her when we have to,” he said, being his usual practical self. “It is pointless doing so before the need arises.”
“Totally true, but, unfortunately, I’m not built that way.”
“No, and I am extremely grateful for the way you
are
built.”
I snorted softly and lightly punched his arm. “You, reaper, are incorrigible.”
“Is that not an acceptable thing to say in this world?”
I pulled away. Though his voice was solemn, his blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “It’s totally acceptable. So, shall we head to Stane’s?”
“His system is far more able to search quickly than the computer you have here.”
Which was a given, simply because Stane’s computer was megapowerful
and
worth megabucks, where as my poor little thing barely had the power to cope with the tax and wage tasks of the restaurant. I really would have to buy a new one when all this was over and things got back to normal.
“Or as normal as they can be given you carry my child,” Azriel murmured. “You have no idea how desperately I desire to see you round and fat.”
“Round I can cope with. Fat, not so much.” I grinned, dropped a kiss on his lips, then said, “To Stane’s, please, driver.”
He wrapped his arms tighter around me; then his
energy surged around us and in no time flat we were standing inside the foyer of Stane’s West Street shop. It housed not only his electronics business, but his living quarters and black market business as well. The camera above the door buzzed into action the minute we appeared, swinging around to track our movements. Not that we could go far—the shimmer of light surrounding the small entrance was warning enough that his containment shield was active. Azriel could—and had, in the past—deliver us upstairs, where Stane’s computer “bridge” and living quarters were, but the last time we’d done that, our sudden appearance had just about given Stane a heart attack.
“Hey, Stane, it’s Risa and Azriel.” I smiled up at the camera. “Turn off the shield so we can come up.”
“Hey,” he replied, his warm tones sounding slightly tinny through the small speaker near the camera. “Welcome back. I was beginning to think you’d abandoned me.”
“What, you’ve grown so used to me bugging you daily with urgent tasks that you feel lost without me?”
The shimmering field surrounding us died, allowing us to walk toward the stairs at the rear of the shop. Of course, this meant we had to go right through the middle of all the shelves holding the tons of dusty junk that were little more than a cover for his real business—black marketeering. And no one, not even Stane’s mom the last time she’d been down here, had dared to clean this room for fear of suffocating in the resulting dust storm.
“Well, not so much you,” he said, voice amused. “It’s more the champagne you supply with each task.”
I grinned. “You, Stane, are becoming a lush.”
“And damn proud of it,” he agreed. “Come on up, folks. I just made coffee.”
“Excellent.”
I bounded up the steps. He met me at the top, a grin on
his face and a coffee in his hand. “Here you go,” he said, honey-colored eyes amused as he offered me the cup. “It’s even the good stuff.”
“You have good stuff?” I said, feigning shock. “Since when?”
“Since I made a most excellent sale of the latest in limpet lasers.”
Limpet lasers were small but powerful lasers that clung to the palm of your hand, and could be fired through various finger movements. “They aren’t exactly a new development.”
He stepped to one side, then swept an arm forward, ushering me on. “These were, trust me.”
I stepped past him, not bothering to ask what made them special. Just as I didn’t ask where he got them. Sometimes it was better
not
to know.
Unlike the lower portion of his building, this floor was pristine and dust-free. It had to be, because dust damaged computer systems, expensive electronics, and possibly whatever other black market items he happened to have, all of which were kept on this floor. Stane himself, however, could only be described as a mess, with unkempt brown hair, an ill-fitting blue sweater with holes in the elbows, and wrinkled jeans. But at least he was neither dusty nor dirty.
I glanced around the open living and kitchen area, hoping to see Tao. He wasn’t here, and his scent was little more than a hint in the air, suggesting he hadn’t been here for at least twenty-four hours. I frowned. “I thought Tao was staying with you.”
“He is,” Stane said, expression suddenly grim. “Or rather, he was.”
I swore softly. “When did he disappear?”
“Early yesterday morning.”
He hadn’t been sighted at the café in the last
twenty-four hours, either—something I knew because I’d checked when I was there. I swore again and thrust a hand through my hair. “You tried tracing him?”
“Of course I have.” His voice was filled with anger, but I knew it wasn’t actually aimed at me. Rather, it was a result of frustration and worry. “There’s nothing. His phone is sitting in the spare bedroom, as is his wallet. And he hasn’t contacted any of his other friends.”
Meaning, more than likely, the fire elemental he’d consumed to save Ilianna had taken control of his body again. “How was he the last time you saw him?”
“Strung out. Fiery.” Stane shook his head. “I’ve seen him play with fire before. I mean, he’s pyrokinetic, so that’s not unusual in and of itself. But this time . . . it was bleeding from his skin, Risa. There was no
way
it was controlled.”
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“Yeah,” Stane said. “I tried to get him into an icy shower—I figured it couldn’t hurt—but he practically threw me across the room, then ran down the stairs. By the time I got up and went after him, he’d disappeared.”
And no doubt headed once more for the sacred site in Macedon, the place where the fire elemental within Tao had been created.
With the clock counting down on Hunter’s deadline, you haven’t the time to chase after him,
Azriel warned softly.
If the fire elemental
is
in control, then there might be no bringing him back this time. Nor will I allow you to endanger yourself again by touching him while the elemental holds sway. It might just kill you this time.
Which technically wasn’t a problem given that I’d just become a dark angel. But that wasn’t something I actually wanted; I wanted to live a full and happy life here on Earth first. Wanted to bring my child into this world, not the other.
But Azriel was right. I really couldn’t afford to lose any time, even if it was a matter of minutes.
Let’s just hope he comes back from this,
I said.
He has before.
By this time, the elemental will have reached Macedon’s sacred site. And given the fire that created it still burns within that place, its very closeness to it may provide the creature with enough strength to completely block Tao out.
I know. Believe me, I know.
He smiled grimly, adding,
Then you should also remember that I can’t get into that site, so it’s not as if I can even check whether he is there or not.
“Damn it!” I plonked down on a chair and watched as Stane resumed his usual position on his captain’s chair in front of his computer bridge.
“Yeah,” Stane said. “Can you get into that site and check that he’s there?”
“Maybe.” I hadn’t actually tried since I’d become a dark angel in waiting. But given that the place had banned reapers and Aedh from entry, it might just ban me now that I had both their energies running through me. “Only problem is I haven’t got the time to find out right now. I have a deadline and people will die if I don’t meet it.”